Keywords
How to Cite
Abstract
Cases of natural killer (NK)-cell large granular lymphocyte lymphoma are extremely rare, accounting for approximately 0.8% to 2.56% of lymphomas in dogs. A 5-year-old male Rottweiler presented with multiple cutaneous nodules and progressive weight loss, with a clinical course of less than 2 months. Following inconclusive cytology, an incisional biopsy was performed for histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses. Histopathological examination revealed a neoplastic proliferation of round cells infiltrating the deep dermis and subcutaneous tissue. The microscopic features, combined with the immunostaining profile—negative for CD3 and CD79a and positive for CD18 and granzyme— indicated a diagnosis of large granular lymphocyte lymphoma with a non-B/non-T immunophenotype of NK-cell origin. The patient underwent chemotherapy with lomustine and completed three treatment sessions before being euthanized, with a survival time of 93 days. Necropsy revealed involvement of the lymph nodes, heart, stomach, liver, and skin. Histopathological and immunohistochemical findings confirmed the antemortem diagnosis at all sites. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of cutaneous, cardiac, gastric, and hepatic involvement associated with non-B, non-T large granular lymphocyte lymphoma in dogs.
References
Adachi, M., Igarashi, H., Okamoto, M., Tamamoto, T., & Hori, Y. (2022). Large granular lymphocyte lymphoma in the skin and urinary bladder of a dog. The Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 84(2), 206-301. https://doi. org/10.1292/jvms.21-0201. PMid:35082219.
Cora, R., Gal, A. F., Taulescu, M., Tᾰbᾰran, F., Vidrighinescu, R., Toma, G. C., & Cǎtoi, C. (2017). Immunohistochemical characterization of canine lymphomas. Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. Veterinary Medicine, 74(2), 149-155. https://doi.org/10.15835/buasvmcn-vm:0003.
Foltz, J. A., Somanchi, S. S., Yang, Y., Aquino-Lopez, A., Bishop, E. E., & Lee, D. A. (2016). NCR1 expression identifies canine natural killer cell subsets with phenotypic similarity to human natural killer cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 7, 521. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2016.00521. PMid:27933061.
Grøndahl-Rosado, C., Bønsdorff, T. B., Brun-Hansen, H. C., & Storset, A. K. (2015). NCR1+ cells in dogs show phenotypic characteristics of natural killer cells. Veterinary Research Communications, 39(1), 19-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11259-014-9624-z. PMid:25434421.
Grudzien, M., Pawlak, A., Kutkowska, J., Ziolo, E., Wysokińska, E., Hildebrand, W., Obmińska-Mrukowicz, B., Strzadala, L., & Rapak, A. (2021). A newly established canine NK‐type cell line and its cytotoxic properties. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 19(3), 567-577. https://doi.org/10.1111/vco.12695. PMid:33774906.
Hattori, S., Hayashi, K., Shirai, K., Kagawa, Y., Kariya, T. (2018). Epitheliotropic T-cell large granular lymphocyte lymphoma in the skin and intestine of a dog. Asian Clinical Veterinary Medicine, 1(1), 6-15.
Jark, P. C., Fracacio, C. P., Anai, L. A., Silva, M. C. L., Calazans, S. G., Senhorello, I. L. S., Costa, M. T., Sequeira, J. L., & Sueiro, F. A. R. (2020). Histopathological and immunophenotypical characterization of canine multicentric lymphoma in Brazil: A study of 203 cases. Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, 72(3), 787-793. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4162-11484.
Kim, Y., Lee, S. H., Kim, C. J., Lee, J. J., Yu, D., Ahn, S., Shin, D. J., & Kim, S. K. (2019). Canine non-B, non-T NK lymphocytes have a potential antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity function against antibody-coated tumor cells. BMC Veterinary Research, 15(1), 339. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-019-2068-5. PMid:31610784.
Kotb, S., Allende, C., O’Neill, T. W., Bruckner, K., DeMorais, H., Gordon, J., Curran, K., Russell, D. S., Stieger-Vanegas, S. M., & Johns, J. L. (2021). A case of canine renal lymphoma of granular lymphocytes with severe polycythemia. BMC Veterinary Research, 17(1), 163. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-021-02854-5. PMid:33853604.
McDonough, S. P., & Moore, P. F. (2000). Clinical, hematologic, and immunophenotypic characterization of canine large granular lymphocytosis. Veterinary Pathology, 37(6), 637-646. https://doi.org/10.1354/vp.37-6- 637. PMid:11105953.
Michael, H. T., Ito, D., McCullar, V., Zhang, B., Miller, J. S., & Modiano, J. F. (2013). Isolation and characterization of canine natural killer cells. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 155(3), 211-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. vetimm.2013.06.013. PMid:23876304.
Ponce, F., Marchal, T., Magnol, J. P., Turinelli, V., Ledieu, D., Bonnefont, C., Pastor, M., Delignette, M. L., & Fournel- Fleury, C. (2010). A morphological study of 608 cases of canine malignant lymphoma in France with a focus on comparative similarities between canine and human lymphoma morphology. Veterinary Pathology, 47(3), 414-433. https://doi.org/10.1177/0300985810363902. PMid:20472804.
Risbon RE, de Lorimier LP, Skorupski K, Burgess KE, Bergman PJ, Carreras J, Hahn K, Leblanc A, Turek M, Impellizeri J, Fred 3rd R, Wojcieszyn JW, Drobatz K, Clifford CA. (2006). Response of canine cutaneous epitheliotropic lymphoma to lomustine (CCNU): A retrospective study of 46 cases (1999-2004). Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 20(6), 1389-1397. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2006.tb00756.x. PMid:17186855.
Seelig, D. M., Avery, A. C., Ehrhart, E. J., & Linden, M. A. (2016). The comparative diagnostic features of canine and human lymphoma. Veterinary Sciences, 3(2), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci3020011. PMid:28435836.
Turinelli, V., Marchal, T., Ponce, F., Bonnefont-Rebeix, C., & Fournel-Fleury, C. (2005). Aggressive large granular lymphocyte lymphomas in five dogs: A clinical cytohistological and immunological study. Comparative Clinical Pathology, 13(3), 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-004-0531-5.
Varvil, M. S., Messick, J. B., & Dos Santos, A. P. (2022). Hemophagocytic syndrome associated with large granular lymphoma in an adult dog. Veterinary Clinical Pathology, 51(1), 115-118. https://doi.org/10.1111/vcp.13053. PMid:35141916.
Williams, L. E., Rassnick, K. M., Power, H. T., Lana, S. E., Morrison-Collister, K. E., Hansen, K., & Johnson, J. L. (2006). CCNU in the treatment of canine epitheliotropic lymphoma. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 20(1), 136-143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2006.tb02833.x. PMid:16496933.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Felipe Noleto de Paiva, Gabriela Oliveira Pereira, Vinícius Alves Furtado, Thiago Souza Costa, Bartolomeu Benedito Neves dos Santos, Vivian de Assunção Nogueira Carvalho, Julio Israel Fernandes